Across the Fields

By Anatole France* AFTER breakfast Catherine goes out into the meadows with her little brother Jack. When they start out the day is as young and fresh as they are. The sky is not exactly blue; it is rather a gray, but a gray that is softer than all the blues in the world. Catherine’s […]

Belling the Cat

Adapted from Aesop LONG ago all the Mice came pattering from fields and pantries to hold a council meeting. They sat around under a washtub with a candle for a light and very solemnlyasked: “What shall we do to keep ourselves safe from Pussy? She hides in secret places and suddenly springs out on us […]

The Two Crabs

Adapted from Aesop* ONCE upon a time there was a Great Big Crab and once upon a time there was a little bit of a Crab. And the Big Crab used to come out of the sea and walk along on the sand of the beach. And the Little Crab used to come out of […]

Little Gustava

CELIA THAXTER LITTLE Gustava sits in the sun, –J Safe in the porch, and the little drops run From the icicles under the eaves so fast; For the bright spring sun shines warm at last, And glad is little Gustava. She wears a quaint little scarlet cap, And a little green bowl she holds in […]

Ole Shut-Eyes, The Sandman (Video)

Adapted from Hans Christian Andersen THERE is nobody in all the world who can tell so many stories as Ole Shut-Eyes, the Sandman. Evenings when the children are sitting around the table or on their little footstools just as good as possible, Ole, the Sandman, comes and suddenly the children all feel very sleepy and […]

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod

By Eugene Field ** Wynked, Blynken, and Nod one night Sailed off in a wooden shoe— Sailed on a river of crystal light, Into a sea of dew. ‘ ‘Where are you going, and what do you wish?’ The old moon asked the three. “We have come to fish for the herring-fish That live in […]

An American Miner’s Song

  I work in the mines where the sun never shines And daylight does never appear; With my lamp blazing red on the top of my head In danger I never know fear! I’ve a wife and small family at home in the house And to meet me I’m sure they’ll be glad. They will […]

The Little Gray Pony

The Little Gray Pony MAUD LINDSAY THERE was once a man who owned a little gray pony. Every morning, when the birds were singing, the man would jump on his pony and ride away, clippety, clippety, clap! The man rode to town and to country, to church and to market, up hill and down hill; […]

The Little Red Hen and the Grain of Wheat

  The Little Red Hen and the Grain of Wheat AN ENGLISH FOLK TALE   Edited By Olive Beaupre Miller   HE Little Red Hen was in the farmyard with her chicks looking for something to eat. She found some grains of wheat and she said: ‘Cut, cut, cut, cudawcut! These grains of wheat I’ll sow; The […]